Cold winter storm brings wind, rain to Sacramento, snow across Northern California

A powerful and cold winter storm pounded Northern California on Friday morning, bringing fierce winds along with rain and low-elevation snow to parts of the region.

The storm made its presence felt Friday morning across Sacramento, pelting the region in rain as winds gusted to 50 mph in some locations. Farther north, snow was reported to be sticking to the ground in Redding. And in the mountains, whiteout and slippery conditions shut down Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

Here’s the latest on the storm:

More rain, snow showers possible today

A winter storm warning and wind advisory are in effect through noon and 4 p.m., respectively, for most of the Sacramento Valley and Northern California mountains. Here’s what to expect throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service.

Sacramento area: Rain and snow showers are expected through the morning, then rain showers in the afternoon. High temperatures between 42 and 49 degrees. Snow accumulation up to 1 inch in some parts. Southeast winds from 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 45 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon. The strongest winds are over, said meteorologist Katrina Hand with the National Weather Service. Rain is predicted on and off in the capital until at least Wednesday.

Redding area: Rain and snow showers. Highs 40 to 46 degrees. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches lower elevations. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 35 mph shifting to the northeast in the afternoon.

Chico and Yuba-Sutter areas: Rain and snow showers in the morning, then rain showers in the afternoon. Breezy. Highs 42 to 49. An inch of snow accumulation is possible. Southeast winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 45 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon.

Foothills: Heavy snow showers in the morning, then rain and snow showers in the afternoon. Breezy. Highs 35 to 45. Snow accumulation 2 to 4 inches in lower elevations below 1,500 feet and 5 to 10 inches in higher elevations. Prevailing southeast winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 45 mph decreasing to 5 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Update on Interstate 80 conditions

Caltrans officials reopened Interstate 80 to passenger vehicles only just before 11 a.m. but restricted westbound travel due to spinouts around 3 p.m.

Caltrans said traffic toward Sacramento was being held at the Nevada state line due to multiple crashes; eastbound lanes remain open to cars.

“Let’s work together people and keep the freeway open,” CHP Truckee officials said in a social media post. “Take your time, slow down and increase your following distance so we can all get through this together.”

Chain restrictions are still in place and required for all vehicles between Applegate and the Nevada state line and the speed limit is set at 30 mph. The roadway was closed overnight due to vehicle spinouts and whiteout conditions as the storm bore down on the Sierra.

Commercial vehicles, including big-rigs, remain restricted going east from Applegate to the state line.

‘Deep’ snow reported in the Sierra

The storm brought more snow to the Sierra through Friday morning with the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reporting 26.2 inches of snow through 24 hours ending at 8 a.m.

“It’s deep out there!” the snow lab said in a social media post, adding the lab was expected to receive another 7 to 14 inches of snow through the day. Another batch of snow is expected Sunday, they said.

Over three days, the facility near Soda Springs has observed 45.1 inches of new snow.

“We are now at 120% of our average seasonal snowfall (432” this year, 360” normally) and 176% of our normal snowfall to this date in the season,” the snow lab said.

Strong gusts reported overnight

Strong winds whipped portions of the Central Valley overnight with one location in the Sacramento area reaching 75 mph gusts.

The National Weather Service said winds have decreased but are still breezy after several hours of gusty southerly winds.

Here are the maximum wind gusts over the past 24 hours, according to the weather service:

• 92 mph: Alpine Meadows, Placer County
• 75 mph: Mather Airport, Sacramento County
• 63 mph: Marysville Airport, Yuba County
• 54 mph: Camel Peak, Plumas County
• 52 mph: McClellan Park, Sacramento County
• 52 mph: Beale Air Force Base, Yuba County
• 51 mph: Shingle Springs, El Dorado County
• 48 mph: Stockton Airport, San Joaquin County
• 47 mph: Lincoln, Placer County
• 46 mph: Sacramento International Airport
• 45 mph: Red Bluff Airport, Tehama County
• 44 mph: Sacramento Executive Airport
• 44 mph: UC Davis airport, Yolo County
• 41 mph: Placerville, El Dorado County
• 39 mph: Nevada City, Nevada County

Emergency repairs on Yolo Causeway

Officials with Caltrans said westbound Interstate 80 over the Yolo Causeway was closed for a time Friday morning for emergency repairs. Officials said the roadway heading toward San Francisco reopened around 10 a.m.

It was not known what repairs were performed. A big-rig had been involved in an earlier crash in eastbound lanes when it slammed into the center divider and appeared to catch fire.

Highway conditions in Northern California

The storm is proving to be too much for mountain highways and passes on Friday. These are the roads that are closed or restricted, according to Caltrans.

Capital City Freeway/Highway 50: A high-wind advisory is in effect from the Sacramento River to the Sacramento-El Dorado county line — travel is not recommended for campers, trailers, or permit loads on the W-X portion of the Capital City Freeway and Highway 50 through Folsom.

Interstate 80: Open for passenger traffic over Donner Summit, though chain restrictions remain in effect between Applegate and the Nevada state line. Commercial vehicles, including big-rigs, are restricted from the mountain pass due to snow and visibility issues.

Highway 50: Chains are required between Placerville and Meyers on all vehicles except four-wheel-drive vehicles with snow tires on all four wheels. Earlier, traffic was held westbound at Meyers and eastbound at Echo Summit due to a car fire. Vehicles were released just before 1 p.m.

Interstate 5: Closed from Fawndale in Shasta County to Edgewood at Stewart Springs Road in Siskiyou County. Also closed is the Grapevine 5 miles south of the Highway 99 merge in Kern County to all southbound traffic heading to Los Angeles.

Highway 20: Closed to eastbound traffic at Nevada Street in Nevada City due to spin-outs; chains are required from Penn Valley to Nevada City.

Highway 49: Closed from Downieville to Sattley in Sierra County due to snow.

Highway 16: Closed from the Colusa-Yolo county line to 1 mile west of Rumsey due to snow.

Highway 28: Chains are required around Tahoe City and chains or snow tires are required between Tahoe City and the state line.

Highway 89: Chains are required from Markleeville to Highway 88 and from Picketts Junction to 2.7 miles south Highway 50.

Highway 174: Chains are required from Colfax to Memorial Park in Grass Valley.

Highway 267: Chains are required from Truckee to Kings Beach.

Highway 58: The mountain pass that connects Bakersfield to Mojave Desert and provides an alternate route to Southern California is closed due to high winds just north of Mojave.

Winter closures: Portions of Highways 89, 108, 120 and 172 have been closed for the winter. Consult Caltrans’ road conditions network for more information.

Snow sticking to ground in Redding, Red Bluff

Snow is starting to stick to the ground on the floor of the northern Sacramento Valley in places such as Redding and Red Bluff, according to the National Weather Service.

Meteorologists noted snow was seen accumulating just after midnight on traffic cameras in the Redding area (elevation 560 feet) while the cold precipitation was “sticking to the road” in the Red Bluff area (305 feet) around 3:30 a.m.

As a result, Caltrans has stopped all northbound Interstate 5 traffic at Fawndale Road, about 10 miles above Redding. Southbound traffic is being halted at Edgewood above Weed.

Forecasts indicated snow could fall at the 500-foot level across portions of the Valley, including near Sacramento. At 4 a.m., only rain was seen on traffic cameras in Caltrans District 3, which covers most of the capital region, in places such as Highway 50 in Placerville (1,800 feet elevation), Interstate 80 in Auburn (1,250 feet) and Highway 128 in Winters (135 feet).

Radar images at 4 a.m. indicated snow was falling in parts of western Yolo County, west of Esparto.

Strong winds in the Sacramento area

Winds in the capital region overnight gusted to over 50 mph in some spots, downing trees and knocking out power.

The National Weather Service said peak gusts from the storm at 2:30 a.m. included:

• 53 mph at Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova
• 52 mph at Marysville Airport
• 51 mph at McClellan Airport near North Highlands
• 44 mph at Sacramento International Airport

Strong winds are expected to persist through 4 p.m., the weather service said.

Power outages for SMUD, PG&E customers

Just like during the strong storms of early January, winds are playing havoc with electricity for customers in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and in Pacific Gas and Electric territory.

Just after 2:30 a.m., SMUD reported nearly 14,000 homes and businesses had lost power in the areas of Carmichael and Rancho Cordova. SMUD crews have restored electricity to some 10,000 but 3,511 customers remain in the dark as of 4 a.m.

Roughly 6,500 SMUD customers across Sacramento County are without power due to 31 outages as of 4 a.m., with the second-largest outage in Citrus Heights (1,458).

By 10 a.m., most SMUD customers’ power had been restored — about 400 homes and businesses remained disconnected. The majority in the Meadowview area (181); and in the area along Hedge Avenue south of Elder Creek Road in south Sacramento County (63). More than 50 SMUD customers remained without power in the area of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Morse Avenue in Sacramento and another 70 in Citrus Heights.

PG&E outages continued across the capital region in the late morning hours, with the largest outages in Granite Bay where 181 customers remained without power and south of Olivehurst in Yuba County where fewer than 70 were waiting for service to return.

Across the capital region in PG&E territory, roughly 7,000 customers in Placer, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties were offline, about a tenth of all outages across the utility’s service area.

Farther north, around 8 a.m., 4,900 customers in Butte County were reported to be offline, according to PG&E.

The widest outages statewide, according to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, were reported in Lake County where over 24,000 homes and businesses were in the dark.

Flights mostly smooth at SMF

The severe weather affected nearly several dozen flights at Sacramento International Airport on Friday.

Only one flight, a Southwest jet inbound from Portland, was canceled, while 34 flights were delayed, the majority out of Southwest, according to online flight tracker FllghtAware. Passengers of Alaska, American, Delta, Canadian-based carrier Jazz and United airlines also experienced delays.

Farther north in Portland, hundreds of passengers were forced to camp out at Portland International Airport where nearly 11 inches of snow fell Wednesday night. Portland International Airport was open Friday, but flight cancellations and delays marked the morning hours. The airport logged 67 delays while 44 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware.

Emergency response

The governor’s Office of Emergency Services has sent flood fighting crews and equipment to six California counties in response to the wet and powerful winter storm, with much of the manpower marshaled in hard-hit Southern California.

Bulldozers and hand crews, helicopters and swift water rescue teams are some of the resources being prepositioned in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties as the major winter storm pounding the south state is expected to continue into Saturday. In the north state, three fire engines are stationed in Glenn County, 90 miles north of Sacramento.

Interstate 5 at The Grapevine remains closed in both directions Friday morning due to heavy snow as rare blizzard warnings were declared across Southern California’s higher elevations.

“There is no estimated time for how long the closure will be in place,” officers at CHP Fort Tejon’s offices said Friday morning in a Twitter post.

Highway 58 over the Tehachapi Pass is similarly shut from east of Bakersfield to east of Mojave.

This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 4:20 AM with the headline "Cold winter storm brings wind, rain to Sacramento, snow across Northern California."